WarpPortal Blocks All Games, Including Ragnarok Online In EU

On April 24, 2018 an official post on the WarpPortal forums stated that all games and services to the European region will be terminated on May 25, 2018. An IP block will then be put in place to prevent EU players from accessing WarpPortal titles. Services to Russia and CIS countries (such as Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova) will continue as normal. The catalyst for this seemingly abrupt decision can be traced back to 2016.

Due to the changes of our company's service policy for the European regions, we are saddened to bring you news that, all games and WarpPortal services to the European regions listed below will be terminated on May 25th, 2018.

The following European countries will be affected by the termination of service: All the European countries except for Russian Federation and the CIS countries.

All WarpPortal game access and account access will be blocked by regional IP. Refunds will be gradually sent for purchases made from February 1st 2018 to April 30th 2018 to those affected by this service termination.

We have updated our User Agreement and Privacy Policy to reflect the new changes going forward.

We thank you for your patience and understanding.

The European Union passed a sweeping data protection bill called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in April of 2016 which is finally set to take effect on May 25, 2018. It seems WarpPortal is unable or unwilling to comply with this new regulation. The new law would require all companies that serve EU citizens to delete stored user data that can be used to identify individuals without their consent. Those who wish to learn more about the GDPR can do so on the official key changes page. What I found most striking was the new Consent Clause:

Consent
The conditions for consent have been strengthened, and companies will no longer be able to use long illegible terms and conditions full of legalese, as the request for consent must be given in an intelligible and easily accessible form, with the purpose for data processing attached to that consent. Consent must be clear and distinguishable from other matters and provided in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it.​

Beside their flagship title Ragnarok Online, WarpPortal also publishes Record of Lodoss War Online, Ragnarok Clicker, Ragnarok Online 2, Dragon Saga, Requiem, Rose Online, and Metal Assault. EU players will lose access to all of these games.

With the majority of Ragnarok Online players now playing on private servers, it is unlikely that many players will be effected by these changes, but for those who are: we would love to hear from you!

Further Reading: WarpPortal Official Forum Post, GDPR Key Changes Page